Star Wars: Rise of the Old Sith
by Sam Takusi
Summary: It has been centuries since the last threat of the Sith, now danger approaches. Darth Bane's Rule of Two has been abolished, and a Sith army is being assembled as in the days of old. A Sith Lord rises that has power that the galaxy has never seen. The Jedi are outmatched, but there may be hope yet: a prophecy is told of a True Jedi who will deliver the galaxy from evil clutches...
1. Chapter 1

Star Wars: Rise of the Old Sith

The Galaxy is in conflict. After centuries of peace, several systems seek to break away from the Republic. Many have succeeded, resulting in the Galactic Republic becoming the Independent Galactic States. Wars have broken out throughout the Galaxy as the Republic attempts to reunite the troubled realm. Meanwhile, the Jedi sense a large conflict in the Force. The Sith are on the rise again, under the leadership of Darth Marek, a former Jedi Master and descendant of the fabled Galen "Starkiller" Marek. The Sith Lord plans to abolish Darth Bane's Rule of Two and establish an Order similar to that of the Jedi in hopes of creating a Sith army that will conquer and unite the Galaxy under his rule. With the Republic's armies spread thin, the Jedi reluctantly look to Kamino for help. Jedi Master Wadd Rutt journeys to Kamino with Lorm Bongar, a bounty hunter who is to be cloned, to start negotiations.

The ship descended steadily onto the watery Kaminoian surface. As always it was raining. The ship landed on the wet landing platform of the cloning facilities. From the ship two human figures descended, one dressed in a Jedi cloak hiding his features while the other slightly taller human was dressed in a bounty hunter outfit and had a military-type face with short black hair and dark eyes. They walked towards the entrance in silence which was broken by the bounty hunter in a few moments.

"Hm. A little under the weather for my taste. I personally like sunny planets," Lorm said, and shivered. "I wouldn't mind Tatooine right now." The Jedi kept quiet. "Not much of a talker, huh. Typical Jedi." They reached the entrance which opened automatically. White light fell on them, which was a change from the dark exterior. A kaminoan stood at the entrance to meet them. The Jedi pulled down his hood, revealing a middle aged stern face with short brown hair and dark eyes. The Kaminoan extended a welcoming hand.

"Welcome, Master Jedi. And to you, Candidate. Follow me," he said and walked down a narrow corridor. They followed him into a circular room with floating spherical chairs. They found the Kaminoan Prime Minister already seated. The Kaminoan and the Jedi sat opposite him, but Lorm remained standing.

"Welcome, my Jedi friend. I take it this is the Candidate," the Prime Minister said, gesturing towards Lorm. "Fine specimen. We will make an excellent army out of him."

"That is why we chose him," Master Rutt said. "I have to tell you this right away though Prime Minister, this clone army must be a hundred percent loyal to the Jedi Order, not to the Republic. Master Ta'raar, the Grand Master of the Jedi Order, must be the Supreme Commander of the army. You must also program them to never kill or even harm a Jedi, no matter the situation. These are our only requests."

The Prime Minister nodded his elegant head. "I understand. We wouldn't want a repeat of the Great Jedi Purge now would we."

"Certainly not, Prime Minister. I'm afraid I have pressing matters to attend to. The Galaxy is at war after all." Rutt bowed to the two Kaminoans, bade them and the bounty hunter farewell, and left with his cloak flapping in his wake. He boarded his ship and took off heading for Coruscant. A while later he landed on Coruscant and headed for the Temple, eager to report his progress. He neared the Temple steps and stopped suddenly. In front of him was a five year old human boy. He had black hair and dark brown eyes that looked black in the shadows. His face was emotionless his eyes looked almost lifeless. The Jedi looked quizzically at the boy. He could feel the Force in him, yet he did not look like a youngling from the Temple.

"Young boy, what are you doing outside the Temple?" Rutt inquired. The boy remained quiet. "What is your name?" Rutt continued. Still no response. "You're not from around here are you? No matter, you came to the right place. This is a safe place. Come with me." He motioned towards the Temple and started climbing the steps. The boy followed him without a word.

...

Somewhere on a large planet in the Inner Rim a building was being constructed. The building was a temple, but it was not a Jedi Temple. It was still in its skeletal form and already it was terrifying. It stretched imposingly towards the cloud-filled sky. It loosely resembled the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, yet it was quite different. Instead of five straight towers, its towers were twisted and gnarled. It was as if a wicked hand was stretching towards the stormy sky. Construction droids worked tirelessly all around the building, a swarm of insects around an evil hive as seen from the ground. Exactly how Sith Lord Darth Eon saw it as he stood before the Temple. The Sith Lord himself was a sight to behold. He was an eight foot tall bag of muscle. He greatly resembled Mother Tamsen of the Nightsisters of Dathomere with his visage, blood-red skin and black hair that started way above his forehead and ended in a ponytail. His eyes were the eyes of a full Sith, acid yellow and red-rimmed. He wore a combat outfit that was black and sleeveless. He appraised the building and one corner of his chapped lips curved into a smile. His master would be very pleased.


	2. Chapter 2

Ten years later...

The now fifteen year old silent boy with the dark emotionless eyes followed his fellow padawan colleagues out of the lightsaber training room. In today's sparring session he had managed to reach a stalemate against one of the best duellists in his group, a Togrutan girl named Ave. He had kept his cool and defended himself when Ave had pressed relentlessly him with her unique duelling style until the end of the lesson. His high level of patience and lack of pride impressed the duelling teacher and his fellow padawan learners. As he reached the exit he heard a voice from behind him.

"Hey Oran," the voice said. He turned, since Oran was the name given to him by Master Rutt. It was Ave. "Nice duelling today. I almost used all my skill on you. If I did, you would have lost the duel within ten seconds." Oran nodded, but his facial expression remained the same. He let the other padawans take the left corridor while he walked down the one on the right. The corridor was deserted, and was illuminated by a harsh white light. Suddenly he stopped and his hand shot up to his head, clutching his forehead in a sudden realisation of an excruciating headache. He doubled over, detecting an alien presence in his head. It was strange yet familiar in a way he could not comprehend. The presence then spoke.

"It is time, youngling."

Still in agonising pain Oran found himself on his knees with his head bowed. "What is your bidding, my master," Oran found himself saying.

"Proceed with mission 7. You will meet your contact in the nearest pub to you. Do not fail me"

"As you wish, my master," he said. It was as if his mouth had developed a mind of its own. Then, as quickly as it had come, the presence and the pain disappeared from his mind. As soon as the pain receded, his previously contorted face returned to its normal emotionless state. He started down the corridor again, this time with a different route in mind: the archives. He was going to steal a Jedi holocron. He walked without hesitation since deep down he knew this was his true destiny. Yet he was not nervous. He knew the presence in his head was a Sith. Yet he was not afraid. Because he couldn't be afraid. In fact, Oran the silent padawan had no feelings at all.

It had been that way for as long as he could remember. Once he discovered this trait that set him apart from other beings he had begun to mimic the behaviour of others his age in order not to arouse suspicion. This had worked well at times, but his infinite patience and calm attracted praise from the Jedi Masters who taught him. He was labelled as having the characteristics that every Jedi should have. Characteristics displayed by the highest ranking Jedi in the Temple. He spent his entire childhood training himself to become a better Jedi. Whenever he could he would train himself in lightsaber combat while the other padawans made friends with each other. He had an average midichlorian count, yet he pushed himself to lift heavy things and do other Force-related workouts. Now his skill with the lightsaber rivalled the best padawans'. His Force-gripping of light objects was almost flawless. He should have been thanking the Jedi that taught him all these skills. Instead, he was about to betray them all. He found himself in the archives where he was met with the face of the Librarian.

"Can I help you young one?" she inquired.

"No thank you madam Librarian," Oran replied. "I know what I'm looking for".

He watched the middle aged brown haired slim woman walk away and he returned to his mission. He made his way to the holocron bank. A few years ago he had subconsciously learned the pass code by watching other Jedi. He realised that his entire existence had been for this mission. Upon reaching the entrance, he waved his hand across the keypad and the lock pieces rearranged themselves to form a pentagon and the door slid open. The holocron bank was illuminated by the various colours of the holocrons themselves. As he made his way through the room, he knew which holocron to take. He stood in the middle of the room and took a holocron on his top-right hand side: the one with the names and locations of Force sensitive children. He left the bank, and found the Librarian standing a few metres from the entrance.

"I've been instructed not to let anyone take any holocrons from the bank," she said. Where are you taking that holocron, boy?"

Oran kept quiet and continued walking. The Librarian realised what was going on just in time and Force pushed Oran towards the now closed holocron bank entrance. He felt the wind getting knocked out of him as he slammed hard against the entrance and collapsed to the floor.

"Traitor to the Jedi cause!" the librarian cried. "You must be brought to justice!"

As she drew her communicator to her lips, Oran drew his lightsaber and attacked. He ran towards her and ignited his lightsaber while she ignited hers, a moment before the two blue-coloured blades clashed in a sizzle.

"Foolish padawan," the Librarian said behind the crossed blades. "I am a Jedi Master."

She pushed Oran away and swung her saber horizontally towards his left arm. He blocked it, twisted around and swung at her head. She parried the strike and attacked again. This went on for a few minutes, until the Librarian gained the upper hand. Her speed and agility was almost too much for Oran to handle, but as always he kept his cool. He used the Force, hoping to balance the scales and get back into the fight. He made an acrobatic leap over the Librarian whilst parrying her saber and landed on one knee, dropping his saber and using both hands to Force lift her several feet into the air. He brought her crashing down to the floor and sent her up again with just one hand. She was ready for her second drop, however, and landed on her feet. She leapt towards him and swung her saber twice while still in mid air, causing Oran to summon his saber with the Force and block the oncoming onslaught. She landed on her feet and Force pushed him towards a railing where he fell over and plummeted to the floor below.

He didn't hit the bottom, however, as the Librarian Force gripped him in mid air and brought him up to be almost level with her head. She looked at him with reproachful eyes and sent him crashing towards the blue checkered data banks. He felt his left shoulder blade to bend to an uncomfortable angle. He winced, but noticed the pain gradually receding. The librarian kept him pressed against the data bank and walked towards him, her right arm outstretched and her left arm moving towards her lips to start communicating. When she was directly in front of him, Oran summoned his lightsaber from the floor behind the Librarian with the Force, ignited it and flicked his wrist from right to left. He missed her head by millimetres as she ducked at the last minute, releasing him from the Force grip. He landed on his feet and the duel commenced yet again.

During the first half of the duel he had been overwhelmed by the Librarian's expert duelling skills, but now he had discovered a pattern to her attacks. She would attack twice then block, attack three times and block, then attack three times and block twice. He timed it right and sidestepped when she was using the first of her three attacks. She staggered forward as he twisted and back slashed towards her back. She turned and blocked but he was ready for that too. He clashed his blade against hers and pushed it towards her head. He then pulled back suddenly, getting the Librarian thrown off balance. He swung his left elbow in a wide arc and hit her wrist, sending her lightsaber cluttering to the floor. He started swinging his saber viciously at her but she kept on dodging. She made a swiping motion with her left hand and Oran's saber fell from his hand. She then Force summoned his saber to her left hand and her own to her right hand.

"You are no match for me padawan," said the Librarian in a steady voice. "Surrender now or suffer the consequences."

Oran ran towards her and Force leapt, but it was not to attack. He landed on a data bank and ran on it. He leapt from bank to bank until he was on the other side of the huge room. Seeing that Oran wanted to escape, the Librarian went for her communicator but in shock saw that it was smashed. Oran had broken it when he hit her wrist with his elbow. She silently cursed, and she followed in pursuit. Oran saw an air vent and set about to cut it with his lightsaber. The Librarian was gaining, but he managed to cut through the vent just in time. He crawled through and travelled as fast as he could on his knees. He turned a corner and heard movement behind him. The Librarian was gaining on him. He had also memorised the system of air vents subconsciously, and his acquired information was what was standing between him and certain failure on his mission. And he knew he could not fail. A few minutes later he saw light at the end of the vent he was on. Fortunately Jedi security prevented intruders from coming in, not from going out. Within a few seconds he had cut through the vent exit and was looking down. The sides of the Jedi Temple slanted downwards, meaning he could slide down and slow himself down with the Force at the bottom.

He heard movement behind him and the Librarian suddenly appeared with a scornful look on her face. Without second thought, Oran leaped off the vent and slid down. His black padawan hair tail flapped in the wind as he started gaining speed. He looked up and saw that the Librarian was hot on his trail. By the time he reached the bottom everything was a blur. He summoned the Force and pushed in front of him, making him float in the air for a second before he landed perfectly on one knee. He started running just as the Librarian landed behind him. He had hoped she wouldn't catch up since he was much younger than her, but she never let down her pace. His breath caught in his chest and his lungs screamed in protest. He wouldn't be able to keep this up for much longer. When he was a measurable distance from the Temple he felt himself get dragged of his feet and flung several feet forward, where he landed face first in a large thud. The Librarian had Force pushed him from behind. He turned around and propped himself on his elbows, waiting for the inevitable.

He suddenly felt a Force wielding presence behind him and felt his face heat up from a sudden and unexpected barrage of purple Force lightning. The librarian had expected this however, and responded by igniting her lightsaber and blocking the torrent. Oran turned to get a look at his saviour. Through the forks of Force lightning he could see a robed humanoid figure, the lightning casting shadows across his barely revealed face. A Sith had come to his aid. Instead of thanking him, Oran ignited his lightsaber and jumped to attack the Librarian as soon as the lightning barrage ceased. The Sith then joined him and together they let loose a flurry of attacks that soon had the Librarian at a disadvantage. Seeing this, she looked for a way out. She opted to go through the weakest of the two, and in some strange coincidence, the two attackers sprung a trap. Oran sidestepped the attack and mimicked the Librarian's hand swipe gesture and disarmed her. The Sith let loose a torrent of Force lightning which sent her flying through the air. The Sith pulled her back to himself with the Force and drew his lightsaber which ignited with a snap-hiss and its crimson blade tore through the chest of the Librarian. She gasped, stared with wide open eyes behind the Sith's shoulder where Oran stood, shuddered slightly and collapsed with her forehead on his shoulder. He dropped her limp form to the ground and returned his saber to his belt. He turned and looked at Oran.

"You secured the holocron?" he inquired in a raspy voice. Oran nodded and handed him the holocron.

"Excellent." He handed a data chip to Oran who took it without hesitation. "Use that to wipe the evidence from the security feeds. I will get rid of the Jedi's body. Soon Lord Marek shall have the names of all potential Force users in the galaxy." He chuckled drily and walked away in long strides. Without second thought, Oran turned and walked back towards the Temple.


	3. Chapter 3

**(A/N: the Galactic Senate is now the Galactic Assembly, because of the Galactic Separation. It's kinda like the UN now)**

News about the disappearance of the Librarian and the theft of a holocron travelled fast within the Jedi Temple. Blame was put on the mysterious Sith that was able to penetrate the toughest Jedi defences. Security was increased tenfold and Jedi were dispatched to find the missing holocron, for in the hands of the Sith it would prove crippling to the Order. It was at this moment that the Sith showed themselves to the public at the Galactic State meeting and tried to force the other state representatives to pledge allegiance to the Onderon State of the Inner Rim. The Onderon state representative stood up and proclaimed himself emperor of the Inner Rim and soon to be Galactic Emperor. This state representative was, of course, Sith Lord Darth Marek, and the Jedi could sense just how powerful he had become. The last time they had seen him, he had been a middle aged human with a cold gleam in his eye as he slaughtered six Jedi and proclaimed himself a Sith. Now his features were concealed under a metal face mask that revealed nothing but the red rimmed yellow eyes of a Sith Lord. The rest of him was concealed in a Sith robe whose hood was drawn up to his head. Besides him stood the imposing tower of malice that was Darth Eon. Together they demanded the States to give up all its power and allow Marek to rule the Galaxy with Eon as his Hand. Without assurance from the Jedi, the Chancellor could have given them power there and then.

Upon hearing their demands being rejected, Marek declared war on the Republic and killed a state representative with a wave of the hand. He, along with his entourage, stormed out of the senate builing and was never seen there again. A few representatives from systems surrounding the newly formed Onderon Empire left also, in fear of being decimated by the Sith tyrant. This left the remainder of the States assembly to decide coming actions that the Galaxy should take. The Core Republic, the remainder of the Galactic Republic, suggested that the Galaxy unite to combat this rising threat. The independent states refused, saying they needed their freedom and that they were willing to become allies with the Core Republic. The Chancellor argued that this was not enough, that decision making would be delayed which is dangerous during war.

"Our decision is final," the Rodian representative declared stubbornly.

The assembly was adjourned with the decision that the wars among the States and the Core Republic would be suspended until the Sith threat was dealt with.

A while later the Jedi High Council had their own meeting.

"The first batch of our clone army is complete," an elderly human female Jedi master was saying. "And more are close to completion. We are now ready to go to war against the Sith."

Another master spoke: "That may be true, but the Sith are assembling their own army. Our spies have informed us that the Onderon Empire has been conducting negotiations with the with the Trade Federation. The Sith are purchasing a droid army."

Master Ta'raar, the Grand Master of the Jedi Order, moved his hand along his furry face. He spoke in a primitive tongue that everyone surprisingly understood. Master Ta'raar was, of course, an Ewok.

"I get your point Master," the female master responded. "But the only way we can stop the Sith is by defeating them in this war. So now all we need to do is to decide where we strike first."

A Bith master cleared his voice. "Our main concern is not offence, it is defence. We must protect the colonies to secure raw materials and hyperlanes. Also, once the Sith controls the Colonies, they will have access to the Core Worlds." There were murmurs of agreement.

Ta'raar spoke again in a deciding manner, and his statement was understood in the following way: It is decided then. Send Jedi and clones to the Colonies. Others must head for the Inner Rim to retake it. May the Force be with us all.

...

Oran followed the other padawans as they headed for the briefing room. It had been three weeks since his encounter with the Librarian and it was almost as if it had never happened. After erasing the security feeds and wiped all evidence of his betrayal, he had carried on with his daily activities. He didn't even give the Sith Lord he secretly served much thought. This is the way things should be, he had thought simply. Now in the briefing room, he waited amongst the other padawans who were chattering nervously or excitedly. Three masters from the Council entered the room, along with Ta'raar who followed them from behind. A Nautolan master spoke first.

"Settle down, younglings. Now, due to the war that is raging the Galaxy and the shortage of fighters on the front lines, we are assigning you all to Jedi Knights and Masters. You are to join them on the front lines starting today." Murmurs started again and most padawans looked frightened. "When I call your name, come forward and collect information regarding your master and travel details."

Names were called out and padawans stepped forward to meet their fates. Most felt like they were not ready, even though they were all fourteen years and above and had trained in Jedi arts since they were toddlers. Finally, Oran's name was called and he went up to receive his information. He took the data chip from one of the masters and put it into his holopad. A holographic image appeared showing a young human woman with black brown-black hair held behind her in a pin and left to hang to her shoulders. She was dressed in Jedi attire, and words appeared beneath her on the pad. They said: Tarro Selene, Jedi Knight. Location-Sarun System, Colonies. Oran switched of his datapad and headed for the nearest ship hangar to the Jedi Temple, as instructed. He boarded a ship with supplies and headed for the Colonies.

He arrived on the planet to find it at war. Cruisers from both sides were firing at each other with full force. The supply ship managed to break away and head for the surface without sustaining heavy damage from enemy and friendly fire. The ship landed on a very hostile surface. The Core Republic's clone army was trading hostilities with the Onderon Empire's droid army. In the background artillery was being fired and heavy assault mechs were being despatched. The supply ship landed behind the action and Oran disembarked to join the battle. He gripped his lightsaber from his belt and held it tight in his right hand. He ran forward without hesitation. He saw Tarro Selene a few metres ahead briefing new clone arrivals. She looked like her picture on the datapad, but her then expressionless face was now twisted in anxiety. Oran could almost feel her impatience as she went through the briefing. She wanted to go back to action. She spotted Oran and her eyebrows knitted slightly.

"Hi, Master Selene," Oran said with an artificial smile.

"Hello," she replied. "And who might you be?"

"My name's Oran. I'm your new padawan learner. I was sent by Master Ta'raar to assist you, and for you to teach me."

He frown deepened slightly. "I was not notified about this. But I suppose we need all the help we can get."

"At your service, master," Oran said with a mock salute and a cheeky smile. He had seen this being done by some of his humorous equals back at the Temple. This unfurled her eyebrows and the corner of her lips twitched ever so slightly.

"Alright then Oran, come with me."

She led him to the front line where they were met by vicious fire from the droid army. Oran ignited his lightsaber and twirled it in front of him to block the oncoming fire. He watched his new master advance slowly, and followed suite. The clones behind advanced along with him, and many fell as they did so. Seeing a way to press forward, Oran yelled to his back.

"Cover me!"

A clone trooper replied harshly. "I aint taking orders from some ki-aarrgh." He never finished his sentence as he was shot in the chest by a droid.

"Trust me!" Oran tried again.

The other troopers reluctantly followed his command. He leapt towards the droid line while deflecting oncoming fire in mid-air and landed amidst the droids and commenced hacking them into pieces. His saber moved without a recognizable pattern, and was soon a blur. Tarro made the same move and soon they had decimated the entire front line. The troopers gained morale and attacked with all their might. Just when they thought the battle was won, a Sith emerged from the midst of the droid. He was reptilian in appearance and had greyish green scales beneath his combat attire. In his hand he was holding a double bladed lightsaber. He struck at the troopers that had advanced ahead of the Jedi, cutting them all down. Oran and Tarro looked at each other and advanced as one.

The Sith wound his lightsaber to counter the attack from the two Jedi. Oran swung at his side, but he blocked it easily. Before he could swing at Oran, Tarro swung her blue-bladed lightsaber at the Sith's head. He parried and made an acrobatic twist, turning to block Oran's saber and back-kicking Tarro in the chest. She fell backwards and dust rose up to meet her. Oran was left to battle the Sith on his own. The double bladed lightsaber was overwhelming, since Oran was not used to fighting against it. He leapt backwards before the Sith cut off his head, and he Force-pushed at the ground. Dust rose up and enveloped the Sith fully until all Oran could see was red light from the Sith's saber. Oran chose this moment to attack, hoping to land a cut. Even though he was blinded by the dust, the Sith wielded his saber expertly and soon Oran was at a disadvantage again. Luckily, Tarro rose from the ground and they continued their attack on the Sith.

They ran towards him, but he stomped on the ground and extended his hands towards them and they were both hit squarely by a Force repulse wave. They flew backwards and slammed on the ground with resounding thuds. They attacked again, but did it a little differently from before. Oran threw his saber at the Sith while Tarro leapt in a wide arc and swung her saber downwards. The Sith deflected Oran saber and twisted around to face Tarro. He Force gripped her in mid-air, lifted her slightly, and brought her crashing to the ground. He lifted her again, but upon seeing that she could get seriously injured, Oran called on the Force and caught her before she hit the ground. He Force pushed the Sith as hard as he could with both hands, but the Sith pushed back, getting them caught in a Force wrestle. The Sith put a foot forward and grunted as he overcame the padawan, sending him flying backwards towards the remaining droid army. His fall was broken by a super battle droid, which was like falling on the ground. He groaned as he got up, and was not fast enough to react to the attack from the droids.

"Hey kid, duck!" he heard a trooper shout. Realising what was about to happen, Oran leapt forward, away from the droids. A trooper fired artillery at the droids, annihilating them. Oran then got an idea.

"Fire again!" he shouted, and then turned to his master who was on her feet again preparing to battle the Sith. "Master, the artillery!"

She turned to block the Sith's strike, keeping their blades clashed in a sizzle. Oran hoped she had understood, because he wouldn't be able to do it by himself. The artillery was fired towards him, and Oran extended his hands, one in front of the other, and summoned the Force. He strained from the extremity of the situation as he tried to divert the blast's course. Fortunately for him, his master had understood, for in a split second she had her foot on the Sith's lower torso, and pushed him into the path of the artillery blast. A nanosecond later the blast struck him at full force, and the Sith was vaporised.

Oran walked back towards his master. She looked at him with a slight smile on her face.

"That was extremely stupid, what you did back there," she said with glinting eyes.

"You call it stupid, I call it Faith in the Force," he said with a sly grin.

She laughed. "I guess you could call it that. I'm proud of you, my apprentice."

"Thank you, master. I aim to please"

A trooper approached them. Tarro's face took on a stern form. "General, the remaining droids have been destroyed," the trooper said. "The Onderon army has retrieted. It's a victory for us."

"Excellent, Commander," she replied. "Congratulate the men on a job well done."

"Will do, General." He turned to Oran. "Not bad, kid. Not bad at all."

Oran smiled his ever fake smile.


End file.
